Improvement in extensible shelving



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SOPHIA H. MERCER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT COLUMBIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN EXTENSIBLE SHELVING.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 113,683, dated April11, 1871.

I, SOPHIA H. MERCER, of the city and county of Washington, in theDistrict of Columbia, have Invented a new and useful EX-tension-Shelving, of which the following is a specification ,Myinvention relates to the construction of portable shelves; and itconsists of two or more sections of shelves having separate andindependent supportsarranged so as to interlock and slide the. onewithin the other, in a manner to allow the several sections to becontracted into a comparatively small article, and extended to a muchgreater length to adapt it for books, as a dresser, hat-rack for hotels,and generally useful as a household and office article of furniture.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l represents an elevation of threesections of shelves when adjusted to occupy the smallest space. Fig. 2represents a similar view of the sections when adjusted to theirgreatest extent; and Fig. 3, a similar view showing the sectionsadjusted to an intermediate size. y

Each lsection is composed of vertical supports A and shelves B, securedtogether in any suitable manner. The shelves of each section passbetween eachother and through openings in the contiguous supports, sothat one support of each section slides between those with which it isinterlocked, and which comestogether as one support when the shelves areeither fully extended or contracted, or may form intermediatel supportswhen partially extended. In this way the shelves can be adapted todifferent purposes and di'erent-sized places, adding greatly in theconvenience of their application. Moreover the size of the shelves canbe changed so as to form large and small spaces to suit either books,dishes, or hats.`

The openings in the supports through which the shelves pass need not titclose, and the several series of shelves having independent supports,will work comparatively free at all times. l

Having described my invention, I claim- An extensible sliding shelvingconstructed essentially as described.

SOPHIA H. MERCER.

Witnesses WM. V. I. MERCER, A. E. H. JoHNsoN.

